Episode III – The Umpire Strikes Back

The "Force" was clearly not with the Mets last night as they lost their third straight game in this series and their fourth straight overall.

The umpires have been a big factor in each game, and clearly, the majority of the calls have gone against the Mets.

Last night’s call by second base umpire, CB Bucknor, kept the Mets from scoring the tying run and snuffed out a would-be comeback from the Mets. The call clearly showed that Marlon Anderson had slid into the bag and touched the base with his foot, but the ump had nothing to say and invoked a rarely used rule to back up his case.

Willie Randolph rushed to the scene of the crime, but alas, the umpire just smirked and had nothing to say about it.

"He didn’t exactly say why he was out," Randolph said of his conversation with Bucknor. "Obviously, he thought there was some type of obstruction or something, I guess. I said it to him very plainly, ‘Marlon has his feet on the base.’

"It was a good hard slide. It’s baseball. I think it’s because we’re not used to seeing good aggressive baseball anymore."

Umpires used to be referred to as the gentlemen of the game. Today they are more commonly known by less affectionate monikers such as arrogant asses, instigating idiots, blind fools, and some more that I dare not mention in this blog.

Umpires believe they are bigger than the game and they do not hide the fact that they relish the moments where they decide who wins and loses, rather than letting the teams play decide.

Their strike zone can be as small or as vast as they choose, and you have to play three innings to try and find out what the strike zone will be on any particular day. But sometimes that formula don’t work, as was the case on Monday when the same CB Bucknor was calling the balls and strikes. It seemed that high and inside strike had been called a ball throughout the game, that is until the last two innings of the game where it all of a sudden became a strike again.

The Mets should have won last nights game without having to let such an egregious call by CB Bucknor cost them the game.

In that regard, the Mets have only themselves to blame.

Stay tuned for Episode IV… the final chapter in this 4-game series.